Overview
- The 2025 season runs Dec. 6–28, with a one-bear limit per permit and quotas set for the East Panhandle, North, Central and South zones.
- State wildlife officials issued 172 permits via random lottery after receiving more than 160,000 applications.
- The Sierra Club says at least 43 permits went to opponents who do not plan to hunt, part of a tactic to reduce bear kills.
- A circuit judge denied an emergency injunction on Nov. 24, allowing the hunt to proceed despite ongoing opposition.
- FWC cites an estimated bear population over 4,000 and adopted stricter rules than the 2015 hunt, which issued thousands of permits and was halted early after 304 kills.